Teenage years are a challenging time for young people. 1 in 10 young people are disengaged with school, 1 in 4 are unhappy with their lives, 3 in 5 experience bullying, suicide is the leading cause of death and they’re the least likely age group to ask for help.
Founded in 2008, Raise exists to help young people. They do one thing and they do it really well – youth mentoring. Support from a mentor during the teenage years can change the course of a young person’s life. With the time to listen, this one-to-one support helps young people build resilience and cope better with life’s challenges, today and in the future.
Delivering mentoring programs in high schools across Australia, Raise recruits, screens and trains volunteers to become youth mentors before matching them with students who would benefit most from having a caring, independent adult to talk to - someone who shows up every week, just for them.
Young people who work with a Raise Mentor experience growth in resilience, asking for help, sense of school belonging and hope for the future – and we know this because Raise measure and report on their impact. Due to the ripple effect of this program, the schools and mentors also experience positive growth and lasting change too.
At Raise, we pride ourselves on having a number of differentiators which ensure the quality of the mentoring we provide to young people:
Highest Quality Mentor Training – Our best practice, industry leading Mentor Training Course has 12 modules (6 individual online and 6 group).
Evidence-Based Programs – Our program design is based on researched mentoring best practice including a requirement for consistent, frequent and long duration contact between the mentor and their mentee. Our programs adhere to the AYMN Benchmarks published by the Australian Youth Mentoring Network, which were created through industry collaboration.
Qualified Mentor Support – Each of our mentoring programs is managed by a qualified Counsellor who supervises the mentoring match to maximise mentee safety as well as mentor skill development and provides case management support.
Comprehensive Evaluations – Raise Foundation’s programs work, and they make a significant impact on the lives of everyone involved. We conduct rigorous scientific evaluations pre and post program, and conduct qualitative focus groups.